


Protective Solitude

by beckyab10



Category: Newsies (1992), Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-22
Updated: 2016-09-22
Packaged: 2018-08-16 15:22:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 489
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8107552
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/beckyab10/pseuds/beckyab10
Summary: Morris Delancey had one place to call his own. It only made sense that place was a place he was totally by himself.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Warnings: Severe depression, anxiety, solitude, abandonment by parental figures, pre canon and post canon.

You have one job in the mornings, and that’s to watch. Your job is to watch and make sure nothing happens and none of the newsies cause any mischief. You could also say that your job is a metaphor for your life if you were the type of person to talk like that. Your entire life has been watching other people and wishing for your own life to be more like theirs. You watch as they interact with their friends, laughing and jesting while you stand alone. 

Your entire life you’ve been alone. Yes, you had your uncle and Oscar, but they’re not there because they want to be there or because they chose you; no they’re there because of some misplaced obligation or some form of pity. The two people in this world who were supposed to be there for you left you when you were small, and that changed your entire world. It made you realize from a young age no one can be counted on. Oscar claims he’ll never leave you but you know; one wrong mistake and he’ll leave you. Everyone leaves you. It’s simply a matter of when. 

You don’t know how to talk to people, though Lord knows you try. You know you’re awkward and uncomfortable around people. You know it’s a huge part of why you’re alone. You know it’ll never change.

You see the newsies move on. They get more respectable jobs. You’re stuck in the same job, doing the same thing, just intimidating new kids. You wonder if you shouldn’t try and do something better, till you remember you’re not qualified for anything else.   
Oscar keeps telling you not to worry, you can keep doing this for a while but you want to be respectable. You want to be someone who matters. You know it’s impossible. You’ll never matter. 

You know Oscar worries about you. You can tell by the way he looks at you, not that he’d ever say anything. If he did you’d brush him off, saying you’re not a big fan of people anyway, so not having any friends isn’t a huge deal.

You used to have a friend. You grew apart as you grew up, but he used to be your best friend, so seeing David for the first time at the circulation desk was a shock, and reminded you of another person you lost. He might recognize you physically, but he’d never recognize the person you grew up to become.

You stand on your balcony of the circulation desk, watching as the newsies cycle in and out. The one constant in your life is this position, this spot. It’s your spot, no one else can take it. It’s a comfort of sorts in your life, knowing you have a place all your own. It’s also a constant reminder that in the end, you’re utterly alone. Nothing else matters. You’re alone, and you always will be.


End file.
